Wall stud locator



Nov. 8, 1955 H. T. BRUMMETT WALL STUD LOCATOR Filed June 8, 1955 INVENTOR.

HENRY I BRUMMETT ATTORNEY United States Patent" WALL STUD LOCATOR Henry T. Brummett, Long Beach, Calif.

Application June 8, 1955, Serial No. 513,940

3 Claims. (Cl. 317-159) The present invention relates generally to magnetic tools, and, more particularly, to permanently magnetized hand tools especially adapted for use in locating hidden pieces of ferrous material such as nails, for the locating of wall studs, as well as foruse in holding and starting small nails, picking up small metal parts, and the like.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved wall stud locator.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described having a handle member pivoted to a magnet bearing member for facilitating the balancing of the device during the locating of wall studs by means of magnetic attraction exerted upon the nails in the studs, or the locating of electrical outlets which may have been plastered over in new constructions or alterations of homes and buildings.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described having the afore-* mentioned handle member so arranged and constructed that it will lie flat on the device and will be held in this position by the magnetic attraction of the device itself when the device is not in use, so as to prevent said handle member from flopping around uselessly.

A further object of the present invention is the pro-. vision of a device of the character described which is light in weight and small in size, so that it can be carried conveniently in the users pocket in the manner of a pencil, and which consists of only a few simple parts which can be assembled easily and quickly, but which is also sturdy, durable and well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device being used as a wall stud locator;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the device as being used for the holding of a small nail and for starting the same;

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of said device;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 3.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing the numeral 1 denotes a preferred embodiment of my invention which consists of a longitudinal barrel member 2 of non-ferrous material such as anodized aluminum, a permanent magnet 3, preferably a powerful so-called Alnico V magnet, inserted into an axial bore 4 at one end of the member 2, and a handle member 5 pivoted to the member 2 intermediate its ends. The handle member 5 has end portions 6 and 7 which are extended loosely into a cross-bore 8 in the barrel member ice 2 from opposite ends of the bore 8, so that the member 5 can swing almost one hundred and eighty degrees on the barrel member 2. The main portion of the handle member 5 is bifurcated, and each one of its branches has a straight section 9 and an obliquesection 11 joined to each other by a web section 10 (Figure 3), so that the handle member 5 can lie substantially flush on that portion of the barrel member 2 into which the magnet 3 is extended when the device is not in use.

The handle member 5 is made of a ferrous material, such as a steel wire or the like, so that it will be held in the position indicated by full lines in Figures 2 and 3 by the attraction of the magnet 3 while the device is not in use. This arrangement prevents the handle member 5 from flopping around uselessly when the device is being carried in a pocket of a garment or the like. Also when the device is being used for holding a small nail and facilitating the starting thereof, as may be seen in Figure 2, or for retrieving parts, or removing iron chips from drill holes, or for picking up small parts for radio assembly, or as a spot eraser for tape recorders, or the like. A clip 12 preferably is secured to that end of the barrel member 2 which is opposite the magnet 3, so that the device can be fastened removably to a pocket like a pencil. Preferably, the entire device will be similar in size to a small, thin pencil.

In Figure 1 its use as a wall stud locator is illustrated. There it will be seen that when nails 13 are driven into a stud 14, and the nails 13 as well as the stud 14 are hidden beneath a layer of plaster, or sheetrock or the like. In order to locate the stud 14, the user swings the handle member 5 to a position in which it is substantially rightangularly disposed to the barrel member 2. If the handle member 5 is being held in a horizontal position, the barrel member 2 is forced to assume a vertical position under the influence of the force of gravity because its end to which the magnet 3 is attached is heavier than its opposite end, and the bore 8 is located at a point slightly above the center of gravity when tool is held in its use position as shown in Figure 1. This point is also disposed at approximately the mid-point of the barrel member 2. Thus, with the device held in the position shown in Figure 1 in full lines, the user moves the device along the wall close to the outer surface thereof. As soon as a nail 13 is reached, the magnetic attraction causes the magnet 3 to swing toward the nail 13 thus indicating the exact location of the stud 14.

My new and improved magnetic tool may also be utilized to retrieve needles or pins from within a sewing basket without sticking same into fingers, or on a radio workbench for retrieving small parts which fall in inaccessible places in a chassis, or around a workbench. It is additionally very handy for placing washers and lockwashers in difiicult places. It also will hold lockwashers on edge and will serve to locate nails or other metal objects in tires while a car is on a grease-rack or a jack.

My new and improved magnet device may also be employed for spot erasures on recording tapes where background noises, coughs, etc., spoil an otherwise perfect recording. A user simply locates the section to be corrected and rubs the tool lightly back and forth on back side of the tape several times. It does a thorough job and eliminates splicing or re-take of a whole reel. Furthermore, youngsters will find this tool interesting and instructive. Two of them may be used as a means of noting effects of magnetic attraction and repulsion.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A wall stud locator, comprising: an elongated nonmagnetic barrel member; a permanent m net mounted at one end of said barrel member; a ti "isverse bore formed in an intermediate portion of said barrel member; and, a rigid ferrous wire handle having transverse end portions pivotally disposed within said bore, a straight section extending from each of said end portions and being interconnected by a web section, said bore being disposed above the center of gravity of said locator so as to permit said locator to be held with said barrel member in a vertically extending position whereby one end of said barrel member may swing relative to said handle member towards a wall stud, and the length and weight of said handle member being such that the attraction of said magnet Will cause its web section to be drawn thereto With its straight sections substantially parallel with the axis of said barrel member.

2. A wall stud locator, comprising: a non-ferrous elongated barrel member; a permanent magnet mounted at one end of said barrel member; a transverse bore formed in the intermediate portion of said barrel member; and a rigid ferrous wire handle having transverse end portions pivotally disposed within said bore, an elongated section extending from each of said end portions and a transverse web section interconnecting the end of said elongated sections remote from said end sections, said bore being disposed above the center of gravity of said locator so as to permit said locator to be held by said handle member with said barrel member in a vertically extending position whereby said one end of said barrel may swing relative to said handle member towards said wall stud, and the length and weight of said handle member being such that the attraction of said magnet will normally cause its web section to be drawn towards said magnet with its elongated sections substantially parallel with the axis of said barrel member.

3. A wall stud locator, comprising: a non-ferrous elongated barrel member; a permanent magnet mounted at one end of said barrel member whereby the center of gravity of the combined barrel member and magnet is located closer to said one end than the opposite end; transverse bore means formed in the intermediate portion of said barrel member at a point between said center of gravity and said opposite end; and a rigid ferrous wire handle having transverse end portions pivotally disposed within said bore means, an elongated section extending from each of said end portions and a web section interconnecting the ends of said elongated sections remote from said end sections, said locator being held by said handle during a wall stud locating operation with said elongated section disposed in a substantially horizontally extending position with said barrel member in a substantially vertically extending position whereby said one end of said barrel may swing relative to said handle member towards said wall stud, and the length and weight of said handle member being such that the attraction of said magnet will normally cause its web section to be drawn towards said magnet with its elongated sections substantially parallel with the axis of said barrel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 512,381 Keyes Jan. 9, 1894 1,307,654 Bergonie June 24, 1919 2,428,864 Boyd Oct. 14, 1947 2,471,764 Miller et a1 May 31, 1949 2,632,790 Kiler Mar. 24, 1953 

